Cranberry Crumb Bars with Mulling Spices

This basic bar cookie has crumb/shortbread layers on the top and bottom, and chopped cranberries in the middle. The combination of tart with sweet was rather nice. The crumb topping had a lovely mix of spices, including cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

It was a good cookie - no problems - but I felt it was a bit boring. The cranberry layer is quite thin - possibly if it were thicker the cookies would have more zing and be a bit more satisfying. The crumb layer was delicious, but a bit more texture would have been nice (include oatmeal perhaps?).

On the plus side, these are a breeze to whip together, and one batch in a 9X11 pan feeds a lot (or a few hungry teenagers).